


The Apology

by girl_next_door_writes



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-16 11:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16953045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girl_next_door_writes/pseuds/girl_next_door_writes
Summary: What if Thor, after finding out Phil Coulson was alive, made Loki go to Earth and apologize?





	The Apology

Sitting in a cell was hardly the most inventive punishment he could have been handed, after all, he still had his little luxuries if not his freedom. It wasn’t his lack of liberty that was his problem, it was the lack of interaction, the feeling of being abandoned down here, forgotten. He had gone through the usual peeks of rage, blaming everyone but himself and now he was laid on his bed in a strange calm. The faces of those he had killed surfaced in his mind adding a new element to his torture and no matter how hard he tried to will them away there were a few, just a handful, that stayed just in the corner of his vision. He did what he had to do, that’s what he kept telling himself over and over and maybe, just maybe at some point he could believe that.

Thor observed his brother from a distance as he did most days. He didn’t trust him but that didn’t mean he didn’t love him and it broke his heart to see him lay there so defeated and broken. Loki may put on a front but there were little signs that let Thor know the brother he had grown up with was still in there somewhere. Perhaps if he found some way to get to him? Some form of redemption then maybe, just maybe they could get through all this. 

It had been a pure coincidence that he stumbled across the information he believed might help his brother. On his daily trip to speak to Heimdall to check on Jane, he made an interesting discovery, one that had him hurrying back to the palace and to his mother. He needed to know if the idea which was beginning to form could be achieved. He just prayed it could.

You were sitting in a briefing when all of a sudden the door swung open and the meat mountain of muscle that was the beautifully built Norse god of thunder strode in and threw his arms around your boss, lifting him from the floor with a hearty laugh. You shot Maria a confused look and she just shrugged at you, equally baffled by the turn of events. Security was not far behind and an entire swat team had Thor in their sights only for Coulson to tell them to stand down, there was no threat here. “We believed you to be dead and reveling in the halls of the fallen heroes my friend.” Thor bellowed, his hands resting on Phil’s shoulders as the smaller man looked up and furrowed his brow in amusement.

“Well, as you can see, death didn’t really stick. Is there something we can help you with? Have you come to warn us of something?”

“There is something I require your assistance with.” Thor frowned, his voice lower and you could almost feel the vibration of his tone running through you like the thunder he was so famous for. Jane was one lucky girl. Turning towards the door you and Maria were immediately on your feet, firearms pointed at the figure being led into the room, the whole room on high alert. Flanked by Fandral and Sif was a bound and contrite looking Loki. To his credit, Phil flinched only for a split second when he saw the person who had taken his life. “My brother is here to apologize,” Thor explained and smiled sadly at Coulson, just hoping he would hear him out. This was a single trip, once they left they would have to find other ways to Midgard, otherwise, he would have come alone and prepared everything but there just wasn’t time. 

Loki’s eyes were trained on the floor. He didn’t know what Thor was hoping to achieve here other than to mentally torture him. How was looking into the face of someone you had killed do anything but cause more harm? Thor nudged his brother and he brought his head up, a defiant look on his face as he looked anywhere but at Coulson. This punishment was cruel and unusual and he just wished to be back in his cell.

Watching the trickster god carefully you lowered your weapon and moved across to stand next to your boss. Tilting your head you narrowed your eyes curiosity rather than fear running through you. “An apology? For what part? For killing Coulson? For decimating a great chunk of New York? For murdering countless innocent people? Which part is he actually sorry for?” Though your words were a little harsh your voice was soft and you raised an eyebrow as Loki’s gaze met yours. There was a look in his eyes that you recognized well. Mostly because it’s a look you had seen staring back at you in the mirror. A look it had taken you years to control and let go. 

He had prepared himself for scorn and wrath so when you spoke he had looked up, expecting to see rage and hatred in your eyes but what he saw there was understanding and pity. He frowned, turning to avoid looking at you again. Instead, he steeled himself to look at the one person he was supposedly here to see. “I am most frightfully sorry for stabbing you with my scepter. It won’t happen again.” He completed the apology with a sarcastic smile and then looked at his brother as if to say ‘happy now?’ and Thor shook his head.

“Brother. Please.” He implored and Loki sighed. What was the actual point of all this?

“Nothing you say can undo what has been done.” Your voice made his eyes snap to you and, as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t look away. “What you can do is learn from it and try to do better going forward. Nobody is truly lost Loki, it’s the choices we make that define who we are but the beauty of it is no matter how many bad choices we’ve made we can always turn it around. It’s not going to stop, the fear and the pain, until you wise up and own it. Once you’ve done that then an apology does far more good.” It was almost as if you were the only people in the room for that moment as you looked each other in the eye and it wasn’t until Coulson cleared his throat beside you that the spell was broken and you moved to stand with Maria, a little embarrassed at your outburst. 

Loki followed your every movement and Thor could see a slight shift in his brother, a small difference that made him bite back a smirk. Loki turned back to Phil and smiled. “To be fair Agent Coulson, you were trying to shoot me with some strange weapon powered by the tesseract. What was I supposed to do? For what it may be worth, I am glad that you appear to have recovered and you have a team in place to help protect this strange little rock in the future. Maybe next time don’t threaten a god.”

“Loki!” Thor growled and his brother shrugged.

“I am just being honest. I am owning my mistake of taking another's life and pointing out that maybe, on this occasion, it wasn’t entirely my…” his eyes found yours again for a split second and he chuckled as he averted his gaze. “Okay, so it was my fault for trying to take over Midgard. My sincerest apologies for any and all damage that I am responsible for. I hope one day to make up for my former bad choices.”

“Apology accepted.” Coulson nodded, figuring that was gonna be the best, if not strangest, apology he would ever receive. “I’m not saying if you turn up without your brother that we won’t fire missiles at you but, for what it’s worth, I forgive you for the whole stabbing me thing.” He extended his hand to Loki who looked at it in surprise. Reaching out tentatively he shook Phil’s hand and it felt as if a little bit weight had lifted from his shoulders.

Laying on his bed that evening, looking up at the ceiling, his mind felt a little more at ease. Now when he thought about Coulson it was accompanied by the memory of the handshake and now, now he found someone else invading his thoughts. Perhaps you were right, maybe one day his good choices could mend the bridges burnt by his bad ones. Maybe one day he could return to tell you, let you know he had become that better person he felt you believed he could be. Smiling softly to himself he closed his eyes and for the first time in a long while his dreams were not plagued by his usual nightmares.


End file.
